Henne v. Wright

904 F.2d 1208 (8th Cir. 1990)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Debra Henne (P) gave birth to Alice Renne Henne in 1985 in Lincoln Nebraska. P completed the birth certificate, listed Gary Brinton as the father, and entered the name, Alice Renee Brinton. Gary, also present while this was going on, completed and signed a paternity form. At the time of birth, P was still married to Robert Henne. P and Robert had filed for divorce prior to the birth, and the divorce had not become final until after the birth. Because of her marital status, the hospital, on instructions from the Department of Health, informed P that she could not surname her daughter Brinton. P then filed in a new certificate surnaming the daughter Henne but leaving the father's name blank. P then waited three years and requested that the surname be changed back to Brinton and that Gary be listed as the father on the certificate. That request was denied by the Bureau of Vital Statistics under the orders of Cooper and Wright (D). Linda Spidell (P1) wanted to surname her child McKenzie as she had her two other children simply because she liked that name but was also denied. Ps filed for declaratory and injunctive relief and got it.